The present invention relates to a method of positioning bone. Specifically, a method of positioning vertebrae using a tap marker is described herein.
Current methods of distracting or compressing vertebrae include screw based decompression. One advantage of using screws during decompression is they provide a landmark to track the location of bone during the procedure. The screws used for decompression typically include polyaxial screws, which include a bone screw and head (tulip) that can be moved with respect to the screw. These polyaxial screws may be pre-assembled or may be modular in design. Polyaxial bone screws are widely utilized as they allow for greater flexibility is use and take less space in the surgical site.
However, there are also disadvantages associated with using bone screws for distraction or compression. For instance, forces are put on the screws during distraction which can possibly cause damage to the screw/tulip interface. Elongation of bone from over-distraction (windshield wiper effect) when using screws can also occur, which may require the screw to be replaced with a larger screw. Bone screws also frequently disengage from the distractor under a compressive load. This forces the surgeon to skip the distraction step or use an additional instrument such as a lamina spreader. Therefore, a need exists for an improved method of positioning bone.